Lower Palm Canyon May 24

With mid-pandemic access beginning to open in southern California, I was keen to try to chase some desert water in places others might not think to go. I assumed Joshua Tree would be a madhouse. I had an idea of a place I thought might be worth checking out. We brought some rappelling gear and some rope just in case. We hiked out from the trailhead at 8:20am, shortly passing our canyon exit point. We continued on enjoying the cool shade of the palms a bit longer until our trail branched off up the hillside. We got great views of San Jacinto and Palm Springs along the way, as well as passing by an interesting palm exploited hillside travertine spring. We made good time across the rolling flats, but the day was rapidly heating up and I was soon drenched in sweat. A short deviation down a dry wash and we were back at our trickling bedrock creek, 1.5 miles above our exit. Everything looked promising with pleasant water temperatures and sculpted mylonites.

The mylonitic foliation had a dramatic effect on the canyon such that canyon left was a smooth tilted slab and canyon right was generally cliff-forming. The creek bottom alternated between narrow polished bedrock-lined pooled sections and more open stretches with shallow sediment channels. Tadpoles were everywhere. Palms were spaced at intervals. Initially travel was quick, with some waterfalls bypassed with downclimbs.

Soon we reached the confluence with the larger creek where we were presented with beautiful green pools, sculpted rock, and converging waterfalls. It was probably the most beautiful part of the canyon. It was also a major frog hangout. We bypassed the first falls with an easy downclimb then I rigged a rope for Heather to descend the second falls. I downclimbed, then slid in. This long swimming pool was delightfully refreshing.

The next stretch was primarily easy going, which finally allowed us to make some good time. Soon enough we reach the first of two considerable boulder jams requiring creative downclimbing and quite a bit of scouting. Eventually I found the best route and we worked our way down, obstacle by obstacle, through the formidable maze. At the end was a neat boulder cave we hung out in for a while, and then a swimming exit.

The second boulder jam we ended up doing what might be the only mandatory rappel in this portion of the canyon. Below was a neat water snake. We encountered two no-exit sieves but fortunately both had bypasses. At the end of this section I spotted a lazy horny toad half sitting in the water. Very relaxed!

Time was getting away from us with all the downclimbing but we had one last long finale rockpile to contend with that included a dramatic house-sized "gatekeeper rock" stuck on end that blocked the canyon and forced us high up the canyon side. Eventually we found a way to bypass it through a rock pile and down into another neat boulder cave. More downclimbing, then finally footprints!

We relaxed in the creek for a full 5 minutes before walking the trail back to the car. All in all a great day out with some fantastic scenery and a complete lack of people. Tasty takeout rounded the day off. Crazy traffic and a four hour wait to get into the Morongo Casino seemed to form the ultimate contrast to our day's activities.

E.F. San Gabriel River April 22

Three days after our 4 mile roadend East Fork run, Keith and I were both eager to get some more exciting paddling in with a put-in from the Bridge to Nowhere, a 1936 highway construction for a road that was never completed due to compromising floods. The site is now a popular day hike 5 miles into the Sheep Mountain Wilderness and a bungee jumping site. I had never been before so was happy to use a packrafting opportunity to visit it, all the more better because the high river crossings, mid-week, and pandemic conditions meant we had the bridge to ourselves when we were there. Keith had previous paddled his kayak down from Devil's Gulch, a short distance below the bedrock gorge under the bridge; I was thrilled Keith opted for his packraft on this trip as we were able to make good time on the trail while also scouting much of the river on our way up (making mental notes of log portages). We only had to cross the river twice and happily by the time we approach the bridge my pants were dry. The gorge at the bridge was super interesting and includes a spooky "lost valley" where the river abandoned an enormous half-mile bedrock meander, presumably due to some landslide event. We spent a fair bit of time carefully examining the gorge from the bridge including a no-mistake waterfall death sieve downstream of the bridge. Once we were convinced we could run or portage everything, we readied ourselves at the bend in the river above the bridge. My boat was inflated and ready to go when I realized my critical mistake. I managed to leave my paddle shaft pieces at home which hit me with an immense sinking feeling. Embarrassing! Miraculously Keith had brought a spare breakdown, which saved the day.

        Avoiding a stream crossing with some scrambling

        Bridge to Nowhere

After a snack and some water we pushed off. I'll admit to feeling a little intimidated by the size of the features in this gorge but cleanly nailing the first and biggest drop of the run helped to ease my into the task at hand. Keith had a couple mishaps that I will chalk up to trying to maneuver his packraft like his kayak. Thankfully our portage around the death sieve went very smoothly, and the rest of the gorge had several more quality drops (and one kind of junky one). 

        Biggest drop on our run

Once out of the gorge and back to having a riverbank, the stress levels lowered a bit and my brain switched into fun mode. In all we had about 10 portages to bypass logs across the river, and several more that we could slide under with slightly scratched faces. My boat seemed like it took a beating between the overhanging branches and shallow rocks beneath but to it's credit remained inflated. The river was fantastically fast and engaging. It was a beautiful day out! We waved at gold miners, campers, and hammockteers as we rocketed back down the the trailhead. Again the crystal clarity of the water was striking and the temperature perfect.

        We spent about 5 minutes freeing this rapid from a blocking log

We covered the 5 miles in about 2 hours, arriving at the trailhead to meet Rick who would join us for the roadside run. The roadside run went without incident. The most notable things was waving to people on the banks and a couple good surf waves we took turns on. The water was noticeably up from few days prior, and even from the morning, but the rapids in this section were much the same. At the Graveyard takeout Keith once again ran shuttle. I was thrilled to have a continuous 9 mile run with no flips! Though the run was hard on the boats (and us, we both admitted to being tired after), Keith and I had a great time and we now have our sights set on higher up the canyon and what other excellent drops (or death sieves!) may lurk beyond Nowhere. Thanks to Keith!

E.F. San Gabriel River April 19

Keith's friend Rick mentioned the East Fork of the San Gabriel River was running on snowmelt, which provided an exciting prospect for a new local run for me. Maintaining proper physical distancing protocols, we (Rick, Keith, Maia, Daniel, Heather, Nic) drove separately to the trailhead at the East Fork road end. Wanting a bit more spice, Keith and I hiked up to the first river crossing and boated down from there. The river was surprisingly fast, characterized by a narrow channel, continuous whitewater and plenty of blind turns with few eddies. We had to make two river-spanning log portages at a moment's notice and a third that I managed to get out and clear. Overhanging tree branches were also common.

The water was a surprisingly pleasant temperature and had a crystal clarity I was unaccustomed to for southern California rivers (usually in frothy brown flood runoff mode, not snowmelt). The whitewater was somewhat engaging with the level of maneuvering required though features were not too bouncy. We past several riverside loungers and gold panners, for the most part all amused by our passing. The real downside was the magnitude of trash and graffiti, which surpassed any other river I've been on.

At the Cattle Canyon trestle bridge we met up with the others and we all made our way down. The river noticeably changed character at this point to more of a pool-drop style, while easing up on the difficulty to II+. There were few memorable rapids but the water temperature was excellent.

We took out at Graveyard Canyon, the last public access before the reservoir, Keith and I having gone a little over 4 miles. Keith volunteered to run the shuttle while the rest of us dried and packed gear. It wasn't the greatest run but it was rejuvenating to get out and do something in these restrictive times and it did pique my interest in packrafting further up the river where the gradient is steeper.

Deep Creek Hot Springs April 12

Keith and I had been monitoring the flows for a Deep Creek packraft run but the substantial logistics and unknown sources of flow complicated things to the point of inaction. Still keen to have a brief look at what 250cfs looks like, and frankly just to get out to one of the few places still open, my brother, Heather, and I drove out to the north side BLM access. It was an absolute delight to drive beneath dark skies and rain, then low-visibility cloud at Cajon Pass, and then pop out into a sunny and cloudless high desert. We had sun all day while Riverside had rainy drizzle. Despite recent rain the BLM access road was navigable enough with AWD. A short 30 min approach got us to Deep Creek. The vantages from the ridge on the way showed some sections to be very runnable at 250cfs and others to be quite junky. 

I brought my ultralight packraft to cross the flooded creek and we took turns one-by-one. We initially sat in the westernmost "warm" pool avoiding people, but before too long felt the need to upgrade to the bedrock "Womb pool" which was perfect temperature and only had one other person in it. I was initially thinking of hiking up the PCT to scout the river but soaking easily won out. We stayed out until a little after 4p before walking back. The drive saw us descending back into muted light and drizzle. With a particular taste in mind we spent considerable effort tracking a Thai restaurant open for take-out on Easter Sunday, but eventually succeeded after a half dozen calls. Thanks to Heather for use of her capable car.

Temecula Gorge April 11

Ah, the familiar foamy brown latte that is the Santa Margarita River in flood. This trip was a last minute surprise. I was still sitting in bed contemplating a lazy Saturday of chores when texts came in from Keith that he had a couple people interested in running it, Ben and Chris. The flow would be 600 dropping to 500cfs, an ideal fun flow (Keith and my run from a month previous was a spicier 800-600cfs). I threw my gear together and was ready just in time when Keith swung by my house; I strapped on my uncomfortable facemask and we were off. Though it meant some waiting at the familiar Jack in the Box, Chris and Ben set shuttle for us which was appreciated. I was greatly surprised to see Rocky and a couple others show up for a paddle. Two groups the same day for the Santa Margarita? It probably has never happened before. More people meant more faffing around but eventually we all got on the water. It was an unusually social paddle for me and it was nice to chat, especially since several of the kayakers were uninitiated to packrafts and were curious.

I generally took the lead having the best recent memory of the run, which avoided the need for scouting. I had a lot of fun at this flow compared to a month ago and managed to not embarrass myself with any flips (at least until the end). Actually the kayakers seemed impressed with the capability of my boat and the ease with which I could get out to snap photos. They also seemed very impressed with the quality of the run.

The waterfalls were flowing more than I had ever seen and the native succulents were fat with water from all the recent rains. The temperature was a stunningly warm day. We ever saw a beaver. It was a great day out! This truly is one of the more special places I know of in southern California.

More whitewater ensued. The larger group meant more opportunities for me to sneak out ahead to snap photos and so I probably got better photos on this trip than I have before.

Happily the rock sieve portage cleaned up as a little boulder slide drop. It wasn't until the very end of the gorge in one of the last rapids that I managed to catch a lateral wave which flipped me. I had high hopes for a no flip run but was happy at my performance overall! Keith, Ben, Chris, and I took out at the Stagecoach Road where the gorge ends and several miles of mazy willows began. The others floated on to the bridge but sounds like they had a nice enough time. 

        Running the "portage"

It was a beautiful day and so I went for a double header. Once home I packed up my paragliding kit, hiked from my front door to my launch and got a nice flight in. It felt amazing to get outside and get a couple sports in. Thanks to Keith for a great little trip. I usually don't like repeating runs but Temecula Gorge is my local at this point.

Indian Cove Mar 22

Heather and I managed to get out to Joshua Tree in the brief window when the park was closed to vehicles but open to hikers and bikers (it is now fully closed). We parked at the Indian Cove entrance and biked up the fan to the campground. I had never been hiking out to the far west side where there is a short nature loop so that's where we headed except we opted for a boulder scrambling cross country jaunt. We passed few hikers on the road and certainly saw no one once we left it. It was surreal to see a totally empty Indian Cove campground. 

I had my sights set on a longer "floor is lava" scouting mission but progress was slow and so it quickly devolved into a get out and explore trip. The scenery was great as usual, the weather surprisingly warm. We took a break in a hammock and then worked our way down a large boulder pile with 20ft deep pits in places. After a few wrong turns we found our way down to the valley floor and strolled back over the to bikes. The alluvial fan grade made for excellent high speed no-hands riding back down to the entrance. It was good to get out!

Mouth of the Kern Mar 15

Keith had his first run down the short and sweet Class IV-V Mouth of the Kern the previous weekend and was keen for another go given stable dam-release flows (320 cfs). Being a new run for me too, I was interested. As a bonus Keith met me at my place which saved some driving and allowed a much appreciated sleep in. Keith, Heather, and I stopped to pick up Eric in Santa Clara, which rounded out a full car. We met Dennis at the orange orchards near the canyon mouth and drove the short distance to the put-in. We could see almost the whole 1.5mi run from the road and it looked quick! With all the eddying and some portaging it took about 1.5 hours.

Dennis had been down the run perhaps a hundred times from the sound of it and so spouted out incredibly detailed beta; I typically followed him closely to follow his line with the hope of minimizing the mayhem. The rapids were bouldery, complex, and fun. There was probably a total of about 20 notable rapids.  

I managed to style most of the drops but did have one upset. A tight maneuver boulder garden required a precision move to ramp up a rock (which to my surprise I nailed perfectly) but then some funky water on the final drop was able to flip me. I was able to easily self-rescue. We had one long portage we all did and soon after reached the standout rapid, Even I Can Boof. This was a tall double tiered rapid (frontispiece) that required a powerful launch over a lateral wave, a stable ride down an uneven whitewater slide, and then lining up for the tall boof drop with perfect rock ledge. The second half of the rapid looked excellent but given my previous experience I thought my packraft was more likely to get pummeled by the lateral wave at the top rather than slice through it like the hardshells. I thought there was a non-zero chance of riding the rest of the rapid on my face and so opted to give it a portage as well. It was a nice looking rapid!

Below were a few more rapids, a bit lower in intensity. This lower section just upstream from the Central Valley was really unique with palm groves, granite, and clear water. Very scenic. Soon we reached the take out just above the water diversion. I made quick time of the steep hike up to the cars with my light boat while the other three suffered.

The boys opted for another lap on the mouth while Heather and I chose to do a few short laps on the more mild Class III section above Rancheria Bridge. Dennis kindly dropped us off at the ideal spot through the orange groves and even pointed out a neat pictograph boulder. The run went by quick and so we ended up running it 2.5 times, mostly practicing skills. The air temperature was great and it was great to get out in spite of the strange times.

It was great to try out a couple new Kern runs. Thanks to everyone for a fun day out.